Thank you for your concern.

But now I wish to talk about this thought some more. How much of an effect does good medication have against the shrinking brain (am I losing more of my brain than gaining through the meds, or is it the other way around)?

Also, as for the shrinking brain, could that be a cause of more depression for someone who is already depressed, but not for another depressed person?

---hence like i said what came first the chicken or egg --

studies compared people with known depression and people with no depression on mri --which show strong evidence of shrinkage in the dd group--and other studies suggest strongly the brain shrunk even more with the group of people who did not seek out any treatment for depression .
That leads back to the gene factor and stress cortisol levels ---

Now is the shrinking brain just one of the known causes of depression, but for some people who are depressed, this shrinkage doesn't cause them more depression?

Matt i promise i will respond soon but i have to go someplace right now

Matt ---its the shrinking brain is seen on MRI with people with known depression. This is the part---it was was compared with people with known depression vs people who did not suffer from depression.

The shrinkage may cause more depression without treatment.

Key point is it can be stopped even reversed with treatment.

I have been reading your posts and there is only one thing I can say that has not been said and this comes from a person that has sufferd from deppresion and other dissorders yes your brain will shrink from some dissorders,but you streesing about it well not help you much all I can say is to exersise your brain and yes my speeling stinks sorry about that.but like any other musale if you don't exersise it it loses mass and I'm sorry but there are no easy answers to these problums even docs.don't know much and what works for one will not always work for all,try not to stress so bad it's not good for you

I have been following your post, and so hope to help just a little bit. I have depression too, and know that the brain may shrink. But ya know what, I fill that space that may be hurting with other things. The brain has a remarkable ability to use other areas, that are not so effected. Stress about this will make you obsess. Heck as we all get older, the brain does its thing. I fill myself up with books, and that is no joke. I read obsessivly, and it takes my mind to a better place, some adventure, some new idea. I believe this makes up for any deficiency that presents. I am also bi-polar, I refuse to give into it, and seek the help when I need it. Try to change your thinking. By changing your thinking, you are going in a more positive direction. The more you think about negative stuff, the more you worry, and it gets to be a never ending cycle, that magnifies over and over again. This change of thinking is by no means easy. When you find yourself doing this, recognize it for what it is, and force yourself to think about some other subject, and how you might fill in what you believe may be missing. The brain is a really cool organ Matt. Neurons, can go all over the place, and re-route, bypass a trouble. Look at Abby who was shot in Arizona....Her brain is making up for the bullet that hurt hurt hurt her. That kind of determination will give her the recovery she needs and wants.
If you have a hobby, go back to it, try reading, try being social and join some activity. Even the YMCA has things to do, that most anyone can do. It is not expensive and meant for public use. Hit the library, release your worry. We all will be here for you. I get and need the same kinds of reassurance as you do. I run back to NT all the time for help. If I let myself think that my depression was shrinking my brain all the time, well I would just have a peanut left, and ready for some psych ward. I am better than that and so are you. Your brain is fine Matt, fill it with all the good stuff you can. It will improve your mood, and you will feel better about the whole thing. It will OK Matt, trust your brain a bit OK? ginnie

I really am trying my best in life and trying to ignore this thought by focusing on getting better with treatment, but this thought still keeps on bothering me anyway.

This thought is that if you have depression, will the shrinkage of the hippocampus cause you more depression? Since the hippocampus is responsible for the creation of new neurons and sends those neurons off to the feel-good parts of the brain (as well as other areas of the brain) and that too much cortisol kills these newly created neurons in the hippocampus, will that cause more depression?

Or even if you have untreated depression, does the hippocampus even play a role in depression and that even if it were to shrink, that it won't make your depression worse?

Finally, is it debated by many scientists that if you have untreated depression, that a shrinking hippocampus (atrophy of the hippocampus) will even make your untreated depression worse and that if it even plays a role in depression at all (arguments against the hippocampus playing a role in depression)?